RED HOUSE RECORDS Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161

Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161

www.redhouserecords.com

Eliza Gilkyson The Nocturne Diaries

(RHR-CD-264 • Release Date: March 18, 2014)

“For me, the challenge today is to remain human when everything around us compels us to shut down.” - Eliza Gilkyson

AUSTIN, TX: Red House Records is pleased to announce the March 18, 2014 release of The Nocturne Diaries, the first new album in three years from Grammy-nominated, Austin Music Hall of Fame member Eliza Gilkyson. Produced and recorded in her hometown of Austin with her son, Cisco Ryder, The Nocturne Diaries is a restless contemplative work inspired by the converging forces of her highest hopes and darkest fears. The songs range from roots rockers to a haunting version of the folk classic "Fast Freight" written by her father, Terry Gilkyson. Never one to shy away from politics and social issues, she writes about an adolescent on the verge of a rampage ("An American Boy") and looks through the eyes of an abused teenage girl ("Not My Home") with the characteristic empathy and insight that have made her one of the most beloved folk artists today. She closes the album on a hopeful note with the intimate "All Right Here," a gentle ballad about finding the most valuable things close at hand in family and home. Eliza describes these songs as "torches that illuminated my process over the last year, personal reflections that the nighttime inspired." "The songs that come in the night are very different than the daylight songs," she says of the collection. "Usually the big themes crop up in the dark -- thoughts of mortality, the state of the world, the plight of mankind, one’s failures, losses and fears -- the things we are all too distracted to notice during the day. But the backdrop of shadows also can highlight the faces of the loving people who share your life with you, who care about the world, nature and humanity, who keep the fires of hope, humor and hearth burning bright in this time, who make your life meaningful and worthy of your best intentions.

The recording opens with "Midnight Oil," a letter to the future and to Eliza's grandchildren, an acknowledgment of the kind of world they have inherited and an encouragement to stay sentient and

Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161

www.redhouserecords.com

hopeful, with the possibility that "come tomorrow maybe a new world's born when we ride the old one down." “Eliza Jane” (the title a nod to the old fiddle tune “Liza Jane”) could be seen as the flipside of the same coin, with Eliza poking fun at her tendency to fixate on the bleakest aspects of current events. It’s a fiddle/mandolin/banjo stomp featuring Austin favorites Warren Hood and Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen), with a harmony assist from Red House compatriot Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza’s son and co-producer, Cisco Ryder. The next several songs highlight different points of view of the world we live in today, from the "end times" love song "No Tomorrow" to her stark portrait of an adolescent shooter contemplating his future in "An American Boy." Eliza follows that with an atmospheric version of "Where No Monument Stands," a William Stafford poem set to music by John Gorka about the humble perfection of an untouched field where no battle has ever been fought, where "the unknown soldier did not die." "The Ark," which uses traditional Middle Eastern instruments, presents the ancient story of the Biblical flood in the Old Testament as a metaphor for our current environmental/economic crises. "Fast Freight," a folk music standard from the 50s recorded by The Kingston Trio, The Brothers Four, Tim Hardin and Eliza’s father’s group, Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders, features the slinky interplay of lap steel, Omnichord and harp played by longtime band-mate Mike Hardwick (Jon Dee Graham, Kelly Willis) and Red House label-mate Ray Bonneville. The song is a dark look at the pull of the road from the point of view of a woman who has settled down but still longs for her old life, to just "go bum again." With harmony vocals by her daughter Delia Castillo and son Cisco Ryder, the song encompasses three generations of the Gilkyson family. "The Red Rose and the Thorn," which Eliza describes as a sort of "Hendrix-meets-Rumi-spiritual-quest-for-the-beloved," features her first big guns electric guitar solo ever, set up beautifully by world class Hammond B3 player Ian McLagan (Faces, Patty Griffin) and bassist Chris Maresh (Eric Johnson). The Carter-Family-inspired "Touchstone" is a song of appreciation and gratitude for the ones we love, while "World Without End" ponders humankind's disconnect from not only our potentially disastrous future but our own mortality as well. Ultimately, Eliza lands on a hopeful note with "All Right Here" (co-written with Danish songwriter Jens Lysdal), where home isn't so much a physical place but a place in our hearts. This elegant love song features the pedal steel/Wiessenborne/saw prowess of her musical band-mate from the Santa Fe years, John Egenes. "But wherever I roam, far from you and our home, I've got it all right here in my heart." Musically rich and lyrically thought-provoking, The Nocturne Diaries is a journey through the dark night of the soul that ends at the light of dawn with a sense of gratitude, a renewed commitment to care, and a stubborn little ray of hope. Tour and festival dates will be announced soon.

BIOGRAPHY Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter who has become one of the most

Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161

www.redhouserecords.com

respected musicians in folk and Americana music circles. The daughter of legendary songwriter Terry Gilkyson, Eliza entered the music world as a teenager, recording demos for her father. Since then she has released 20 recordings of her own, and her songs have been covered by such notables as Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash. The Grammy-nominated songwriter has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown, XM Radio, Air America Radio and has toured worldwide as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dan Fogelberg, as well as with the Woody Guthrie review, Ribbon of Highway-Endless Skyway, alongside the Guthrie Family, Jimmy Lafave, Slaid Cleaves, and special guests Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne and Kris Kristofferson. She has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith and is an ongoing winner of the Austin Chronicle’s various music awards, as well as Folk Alliance awards for Best Artist, Best Songwriter and Record of the Year. Her CD Land of Milk and Honey was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Eliza’s meditative “Requiem,” written as a prayer for those who lost their lives in the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, was recorded by the nationally recognized choral group Conspirare, whose version was nominated for a Grammy and won the prestigious Edison Award in Europe. The song has become a standard in choir repertory the world over. Two of her songs appeared on Joan Baez’ Grammy-nominated CD, Day After Tomorrow. In addition to touring in support of her previous release, Roses at the End of Time, in 2011 and 2012 Eliza and label-mates John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky performed as “Folk Super Trio” Red Horse, a side project whose CD stayed for months at the top of the Folk Music Charts. Eliza recently was invited to contribute a track on the Jackson Browne tribute, Looking Into You (due to be released in early 2014), along with Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Sara Watkins, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin and others. Eliza is an active member of the Austin music and political community, including the environmental organization Save Our Springs (www.sosalliance.org), and she is a co-founder of www.5604manor.org, an Austin-based activist resource center that promotes political activism and community involvement around issues of race, patriarchy and global injustice.

RED HOUSE DISCOGRAPHY

The Nocturne Diaries - 2014 Roses at the End of Time – 2011 Red Horse (with John Gorka & Lucy Kaplansky) – 2010

Beautiful World – 2008 Your Town Tonight – 2007

Requiem (EP) – 2007 (released in UK only) Paradise Hotel – 2005

Land of Milk and Honey – 2004 Lost and Found – 2002

Hard Times in Babylon – 2000

PREVIOUS PRESS

“Intimate, delicate-voiced and given to musical introspection . . . her honest voice and understated, life affirming lyrics remain the core of her songs.” – People “Gilkyson doesn't pull any punches. She graces the music with her lush and passionate voice; a dark and lonely sound, hope and satisfaction, and edgy lyrics with piercing imagery round out the whole.”

Publicity Contact: Angie Carlson • publicity@redhouserecords.com • (651) 644-4161

www.redhouserecords.com

– New York Times “Few folk singers, even those from the original folk revival, have been able to combine social consciousness with musicality as well as Eliza Gilkyson. She merges strong songwriting talent with commanding vocals to create music that has immediate appeal as well as lasting intellectual impact.” – Vintage Guitar “She doesn’t place her songs above her listeners; she’s down inside them” – All Music Guide “Like the master writer she is, Gilkyson cuts through the jungle of posturing leftist verbiage and conservative spin…She packs a political punch that is as entertaining and blue-collar as the work of Woody Guthrie” – Houston Press “One of the most influential artists on the American folk music scene” – Maverick “With a knowing eye on the past, Eliza Gilkyson is making folk music for the 21st Century, and it’s a delightful thing to hear.” – Austin Chronicle “Raw, harrowing tales of shattered lives and immoral wars. She continues to make big statements…” – Penguin Eggs “Honey-on-sandpaper vocal style…with a weathered grace” – Paste “Gilkyson has raised the composing bar to a whole new level. – FolkWax “Her work is too good to be ignored. She sings with plaintive power and writes with soulful strength.” – Dallas Morning News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS Grammy Award Nomination – Best Contemporary Folk Album (Land of Milk and Honey) Austin Music Award – Best Folk Artist Austin Music Award – Best Songwriter Austin Music Award – Best Female Vocalist Austin Music Award – Best Folk Band Folk Alliance Music Award – Album of the Year (Paradise Hotel) Folk Alliance Music Award – Song of the Year (“Man of God” - Paradise Hotel) Folk Alliance Music Award – Best Solo Artist Folk Alliance Music Award – Best Contemporary Artist